Bars Bells and Bows

Hey yall! This week I want to share a little bit about nutrition and diets. The society that we currently live in places a huge emphasis on diet culture. I always see advertisements for shakes to help you burn fat, specific diets that make you lose weight just like that (*snaps fingers*), juice cleanses, extremely limited food sources, and so much restriction.

How many of you have fallen for it? I know I have back in college, even in high school, trying to get ready for that spring break or formal I had coming up. All the girls would “diet.” All the restrictions. But, what is a diet, really? Let’s break it down.

By definition, a diet is:
1) food and drink regularly provided or consumed.
2) habitual nourishment.
3) the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason. (Merriam-Webster)

Based on the definition, a “diet” will ALWAYS be a part of your life as long as you are eating and drinking. Every single day you are on a diet. So, let’s make your diet last for a lifetime. Think about it as a lifestyle. You want to live a long and healthy life, right? 

Stop putting your body through all these fad diets that cause you to restrict a whole food group because someone says you’ll lose weight the fastest that way. Stop restricting calories and keeping your body from the nourishment it deserves. And stop cutting out foods that you crave all because they don’t fit in with your “diet” of the week.

But, you ask, how can I eat what I love and still lose weight?

The answer: MACROS.

What are MACROs, you ask? MACROs stands for macronutrients. In a nutshell (trying not to get too longwinded here), macronutrients consist of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The three large nutrients your body needs to survive. Together, they provide the body with the energy it needs. 

Carbohydrates

• Main energy source for both mental and physical activity
• Stored as glycogen in the liver that provides energy during physical activity
• Come in two forms: complex and simple
  • Complex: prevent blood sugar spikes, keep you feeling full, and rich in minerals and fiber –> improved GUT HEALTH and lower cholesterol
    • Ex. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals/grains, potatoes, brown rice, whole-grains
  • Simple: sugars, sweets, fruit juices (eat these in moderation)
• Should consume between 45-65% in diet
• 1g = 4 calories

Fat

• Essential for the body: omega 3 and omega 6
• Regulate metabolism, improve blood flow, and important for cell growth and regeneration
• Deliver fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K
• Animal fats provide the body with cholesterol which helps in formation of vitamin D
• Ex. Coldwater fish (salmon, mackeral), olive oil, nuts, avocado, meat and dairy products, butter, coconut butter 
• Should consume 25-35% in diet
• 1g = 9 calories

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Protein

• Building blocks for structures in the body
• Functions as hormone, enzyme, and antibody in body
• Come as essential, semiessential, and nonessential amino acids (20 different amino acids)
• Body cannot produce enough, so must be attained from diet
• Stored in muscles –> not a direct source of energy!
• Should consume 1-2g/kg of body weight depending on goals
  • Ex. Meat, fish, seafood, eggs, legumes, nuts, soy products
• 1g = 4 calories

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Our bodies REQUIRE every macronutrient! I am not here to tell you what to do, but I will tell you the facts. And these are the facts: macronutrients are essential for energy, metabolism, and functionality in the body. You do not need to cut any out, but rather, find the balance of macronutrient ratios required for your goals.

If you starve your body of one macronutrient (i.e. carbs), it will feed off of the others and you will lose the desired weight. When you reintroduce one back after completing your diet, your body becomes confused. It will start holding on to this nutrient and store it as fat because it doesn’t want to be without it again (the body really is that smart and such an amazing system). The result is gaining all that weight that you lost back and then some. How many of y’all have experienced that? Reintroducing foods you restricted based on a diet and then gaining weight faster than you lost it. Who the heck wants that??

I found counting my MACROs to be the most efficient way to balance my ideal body (for me), health, and happiness. Counting MACROs consists of calculating the amount of calories (energy) that your body needs to function at its ideal state and dividing those calories into percentages for each macronutrient throughout the day. Healthyeater.com has an awesome Flexible Dieting Calculator to help calculate your total calories needed for the day.

Percentages of macronutrients depend on your health goals. Personally, my current split is 50%(carbs)/25%(protein)/25%(fat). You can adjust this to your needs. I like where I’m at physically, so this is maintenance body weight goals. You can tweak the numbers to find what percentages/calories would be best for weight loss, maintenance, and strength building.

Counting MACROs does involve some work. You will need to either weigh your food/know portion measurements. MyFitnessPal is a great app that I use to plug my numbers in and take the math out of it. Although, the math can be done (if you really want to do that haha).It also scans most items and chain restaurants have all their nutritional facts online that you can plug in to the app. After a while, you’ll be better able to guesstimate portions.

What I love about counting MACROs is that I can stay on track of how much food my body physically needs to function, but I DON’T HAVE TO CUT OUT FOODS THAT I LOVE!!!!

I still eat pizza, cake, cookies, pastas, you name it. Obviously you can’t eat these foods only; there must be moderation. You will have to adjust portion sizes and make those foods fit around your meals. But, what is awesome is that if you plan your macros the night before, you can calculate how many macros that pizza takes up and plan your other meals around that!

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Tracking MACROs does take some getting used to. But, if you mess up, it’s not the end of the world. Your progress will not be lost. I repeat, YOUR PROGRESS WILL NOT BE LOST.

I thought I would include a day of tracking so you guys could see how it works, what kinds of foods I eat (majority nutritionally dense, but def don’t cut out favs), and how simple it is!

Below is a food diary while tracking MACROs. I have also added pictures of the meals after the video for a closer look at the numbers. (I am new to the vlog world, so my videos will be a work in progress for a little while 🙂 I’m trying haha).

My daily MACRO requirements: 126P, 253C, 56F
Full day of eating count: 135P, 248C, 64F

So, now you understand why I love tracking MACROs. It is a lifestyle. It has taught me that the popular culture of getting thin quick does not lead to health and happiness, carbs are not evil, and all food is fuel. It is easy for me to eat healthy most days because I know that I can indulge every now and then and I won’t fall off track. And you won’t either!!

I challenge you to count your MACROs for 4 weeks; a 4 week challenge.  Keep a journal, take progress pics, track your measurements (chest, arms, hips, thighs, and waist), and keep track of how you FEEL. How you feel is ultimately the most important. I can answer any questions you may have. I will check in on Instagram every week to see how you are doing. At the end of the 4 weeks, we will compare your before and after. Let’s feel good together! Let’s respect and nourish our bodies and minds! Do not restrict the things that they need and sometimes the things that they crave. Because let’s be real, food is delicious!

As always, comments are appreciated and email or DM me on Instagram if you have any questions! xoxo